Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on classroom-based learning, what plans they
have for (1) GCSE, and (2) A-level, exams (a) in 2021, and (b)
beyond that date.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education and Department for International Trade () (Con)
My Lords, the noble Lord’s Question is certainly topical, as the
Secretary of State for Education made an Oral Statement on 2021
exams in the other place earlier this morning. In recognition of
the challenges faced by students this year, the Government have
introduced a package of new measures that will help to ensure
that every student is able to receive a fair grade that reflects
what they know and can do.
(Con)
I welcome today’s Statement. I trust that my Question did not
make the Government rush it out precipitately. They seem to be
doing everything they can to be fair and generous to those whose
education has been disrupted by Covid. Can my noble friend
confirm that consideration has been given to those schools and
individuals disproportionately affected by the pandemic, not just
now but in the coming months?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government indeed recognise that there has been
differential learning loss and—working alongside Ofqual, which
has responsibility in this matter—we considered a regional
approach, but that was quickly ruled out as unfair. However, we
have established an expert advisory group whose job is to monitor
and make recommendations about anything further that we can do to
address differential learning loss.
(Ind
Lab)
My Lords, I welcome the Government’s decision to hold GCSE and
A-level exams this year, and their admission that to cancel them
last year was a mistake. It certainly was, as some of us said at
the time. The measures that the Government now propose are, for
the most part, welcome too, although more than a little late.
However, the measures make no reference to FE or HE, even though
public exams are a gateway to those sectors. Why have the
Government no proposals for schools to inform colleges and
universities of how much schooling applicants have missed and
whether they had adequate access to online learning? This is
vital information if university and college admissions are to be
fair.
(Con)
I can assure the noble Baroness that we have worked closely,
obviously, with FE and HE because the examination system of
course bolts on to admissions, particularly in relation to the
grade profiling that we have outlined. That will be similar but
not identical to last year’s, because HE in particular was used
to the system that there was last year. However, entry will be on
the basis of grades and that is why we have maintained the exams
at 16—the majority of English students move institution at that
age.
(LD) [V]
I very much welcome the announcement by the Government. As we
know, there is educational disadvantage throughout the country,
depending on which school and region one is in. It particularly
affects those in poorer areas. The Minister said that considering
regional variations would be unfair. Why would that be the case?
(Con)
My Lords, the effect on children, even within a region, can be
variable and any regional approach could easily mean that there
would be unfairness—for instance, if a child has been out of
school for a length of time and lived one mile into Cheshire,
while there was a regional approach for Trafford. Our approach
tries to address the fact that every child has had their
education disrupted. We have said that at the end of January the
topic areas will be announced, as well as the aids that a child
can take into an exam. That will enormously relieve the pressure
and be as fair as possible to individual children. It is not
possible, though, to have a fair system that is regionally based.
(Con)
[V]
My Lords, I declare an interest as the founder of the university
technical colleges. Is the Minister aware that on 26 November,
some 798,000 students were due to attend school? The attendance
rate is at about 80% and is likely to continue like that until
Christmas and be worse afterwards. This means that the teaching
days lost will be different for individual students. Some may
lose five days of teaching while others may lose 40. In that
case, will the class teacher, who will be the only one who knows
how many days have been lost per student, be allowed to adjust
the grades of each student to reflect the amount of education
that each one has missed?
(Con)
My Lords, no, we are not relying on teachers in that way. We are
convinced that, for those students who are part of the way
through their courses, the fairest way to assess them is through
an examination system in which, of course, they are anonymised.
That has been a concern over the years for various cohorts of
students, such as BAME pupils in terms of subjective assessments.
We stand by the fact that the fairest way to do this is to hold
public examinations. The adaptations that we have announced will,
as far as is possible, give children an examination that tests
their knowledge. They will be aware of the topic areas and any
aids that they can take into the examination hall at the end of
January.
(CB)
I declare an interest as the chair of a multi-academy trust. I
welcome the statement from the Minister, but I would add that
making exams easier to pass does not necessarily help the poor
the most. As there are groups of us who are anxious that this
opportunity for levelling up is not lost, perhaps we could meet
with the Minister when she has time.
(Con)
My Lords, I always welcome the opportunity for meetings and I
hope that in the new year our meetings can be face to face rather
than on Zoom. We are convinced that this set of adaptations and
the fact that the exams have been delayed by three weeks will
help those students who have been out of school the most. We
cannot create a perfect situation, but we are confident that
these adaptations will help those children the most.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, the Government have finally listened to calls from
Labour, school leaders, trade unions and parents by setting out a
plan for next year’s exams, but this really should have been in
place months ago to give pupils, parents and schools the clarity
they need. Significant numbers of pupils have been and will
continue to be absent from school due to Covid-19, causing
disruption to their education. Of course, the pattern across the
country is uneven. This raises the spectre of these young people
being examined on what they have not been taught rather than what
they have been. What makes the Minister confident that the expert
group announced today can ensure that such a damaging outcome is
avoided?
(Con)
My Lords, since schools have returned, they have known about and
had to adapt to the guidance for public health restrictions on
the curriculum, such as not running geography field trips. But at
the end of January, they will know the topic areas on which most
examinations will be set. That means that—although many schools
are doing a sterling job of catching up for these young people—if
that part of the curriculum has not been covered yet, they will
know at the end of January to cover it. As the exams are three
weeks later than normal, that should give adequate time. We
expect the majority of the curriculum to have been taught to the
majority of students but, to make sure, they will know these
topic areas. That should address the noble Lord’s point.
(LD)
My Lords, having listened to the Secretary of State this morning
on the welcome but tortuous arrangements for the next GCSEs, may
I ask what consideration the Government have given to doing away
with GCSEs? With the raising of the school leaving age, they are
no longer a school leaving exam and the time spent on working for
exams could be much better spent on life skills, career options
and preparation for adult life, as well as instilling a love of
learning, which is so often displaced by the tyranny of exams.
(Con)
My Lords, exams give students an opportunity to show what they
know and to be assessed on it objectively. I pay tribute to
schools and exam centres that, even during the recent lockdown,
ran examinations for approximately 20,000 students. We are
confident that exams can be run next year. As I have outlined,
exams at 16 are important in England, because the majority of our
students transition at that age.
(Non-Afl)
The noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, brings us good news for once.
That exams will go ahead is especially important when so many
have opportunistically used the pandemic to lobby against exams
per se—no U-turns, please. When the Secretary of State says that
the most important thing is how young people progress to the next
stage, does it not reduce exams merely to credentials on pieces
of paper? What are the Government doing about the knowledge gap
to compensate for what is not being taught, beyond exams? While I
commend creative special measures, generous grading and so on,
some teachers say that exam aids and crib sheets are an official
endorsement of cheating. Can the Minister comment?
(Con)
My Lords, we are confident that schools—as will be shown when
they are inspected by Ofsted, which will not happen until at
least the summer term—are delivering a broad and balanced
curriculum. The changes and reforms that have been introduced to
GCSEs should be knowledge rich, so that students leave with a
love of learning and not just exams to help them transition to
the next stage.
